Tag: Gary US Bonds

This is a cracking little gem of a single from a collaboration of two of America’s best Rock and Roll / Rhythm and Blues musicians. Gary US Bonds and Bruce Springsteen.

Gary was born in Jacksonville, Florida, USA in 1939. His career started at the very beginning of the Rock and Roll era and some of his early tours were with the likes of Ben E King and Sam Cooke. During the early part of his career (1960-1962) he gained 5 top ten hits on the US Charts including a number one single in June 1961 with “Quarter to three”, where the song also hit the UK top ten. He did a tour of Europe headling above The Beatles.

A chance meeting between Bruce Springsteen, E Street Band guitarist Little Steven Van Zandt, and Gary occured and they became friends. Bruce had been influenced by Gary’s early music thus the album “Dedication” was recorded from which this single is lifted.

Picture sleeve for single

Although not a big hit in the UK this release was a comeback for Gary as it had been several years since he had made the charts. It was produced by Miami Steve and Bruce Springsteen.

The single had a UK peak of #43 with 6 Weeks on chart, but became very successful in the US where the peak position was #11 on the Billboard Pop chart and #5 on the Billboard rock chart. It also became a minor hit in Belgium and a top twenty hit in New Zealand.

The B Side is a co-production between Gary, Lanny Lambert and Rob Parissi, a saxophone lead track called “Way Back When”.

Gary continues to write and release music and has continued to appear on the concert circuit, sometimes for as many as 100 shows a year. After 60 years he continues to work with many greats of the industry.